Circus Pie car
Dining in the ‘Pie Car’ at the Circus
The Circus “Pie Car” or railroad shows diner has been a mainstay since the early shows hit the rails.
Legend has it that the Pie Car got its name during the turn of the century when its menu was dominated by inexpensive meat pies.
Some pie cars were filthy, rolling roach palaces that few but the heartiest appetites dared to eat in. They were designed to win back the payroll for the unscrupulous show owners with slot machines against the walls and dice tables and gambling wheels. Most of the time they ran ‘wide open’ but occasionally the town couldn’t be ‘fixed’ and then the Gambling devices would be covered with wooden boxes or otherwise disguised to make them resemble cabinets or crates when the train was in town and the local “law dogs” came sniffing around.
Most legitimate pie cars offered sandwiches, snacks and coffee for the most part but the cooks always put back fresh steaks, chops and cold milk in the ice box for those who could afford to eat ‘high on the hog’. Very few choices in fresh vegetables or baked goods were readily available.
Today only two pie cars exist on the only two show trains that exist. The one on the Strates Train and the one on the Ringling Train. Little information is forthcoming on the Strates dining car but the Ringling car is well documented and it has come a long way from those days of yesteryear.
No expense was spared on the recently renovated diner (car 180) at a cost of 1.2 million dollars. It boasts a custom built, all aluminum marine quality kitchen with induction cooking, slatted floors for steam cleaning, and high end freezer/refrigeration units. The deep scarlet walls are lined with vintage circus posters. Diners sit at booths accented with vases of fresh tulips and imported bottled water. Everything is five star.
On most days, hungry diners arrive in buses from the arena after their shifts, and they’ll want anything from a sandwich to a full meal, said Executive Chef Michael K. Vaughn, director of food and facility services.
The Pie Car is positioned toward the center of the gleaming silver mile long train with its red and white Ringling logos and has but 32 seats (many performers take their meals back to their train cabins to prevent circuslock).
Space is at a premium in the narrow 9-foot, 3-inch-wide car. All supply bins must be latched to keep them from springing open on the rails; the maroon-and-gray walls and furnishings are flame-proofed.
Vaughn serves about 350 gourmet style meals each day, mindful to offer turkey bacon to those who shun pork and alternatives for those with food allergies. Vaughn made sure a hot meal was ready at the end of the day for Muslims observing Ramadan.
He must cater to 90-pound gymnasts watching their weight, and burly men who live on meat and grease. “The crew — nothing healthy for them,” says Vaughn, a Baton Rouge, La., native. “They will get upset with you over green beans and salad.” Meals are subsidized by the show. Full meals on the pie car are $5.50, cheeseburgers, about 3½ inches thick, (one of the most popular dishes) are $3. On dates where there are three shows a day, meals are free for performers. The thinking is that it eases the stress of three tough shows in a day.
Michael has a crew of 6 employees and he is often short handed. He has managed Food Service operations for the Red Unit, Blue Unit, and Barnum’s Kaleidoscope. Each of these operations is responsible for feeding over three hundred and fifty people each day. Each unit is equipped with two Food Service facilities. One is the train dining car and the other is a mobile food service trailer that is set up on the grounds in each venue.
The units tour throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico non-stop, year-round.The massive train chugs its way across 32,000 miles of rail lines during its two-year tours, and the Pie Car stays open all day, every day, so the 300+ circus performers and staff who live aboard can gab, nosh, watch movies on the flatscreens or work on laptops. There’s no Wi-Fi in the Pie Car, but most of its patrons have AirCards.